“Ujjwala Yojana continues to expand its reach! Extremely delighted that today the number of beneficiaries crossed 2.5 crore,” tweeted Modi, who had piloted the ambitious programme. (Representative Image/Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed happiness as the beneficiaries of the Ujjwala LPG scheme crossed 2.5 crore mark. In May last year, the government had embarked on a drive to provide free cooking gas connections to 5 crore women from poor households in three years with a view to reduce the use of polluting fuels such as wood and dried cow dung. President Pranab Mukherjee today handed over cooking gas connection to a woman in Jangipur in West Bengal to mark the milestone.

I thank Rashtrapati Ji for the special gesture of handing over LPG connections to beneficiaries in Jangipur, West Bengal. @RashtrapatiBhvn

“Ujjwala Yojana continues to expand its reach! Extremely delighted that today the number of beneficiaries crossed 2.5 crore,” tweeted Modi, who had piloted the ambitious programme. “I thank Rashtrapati Ji for the special gesture of handing over LPG connections to beneficiaries in Jangipur, West Bengal,” he added. The prime minister also congratulated Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and and his entire team for “working round-the-clock for the success of Ujjwala Yojana.”